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Home » Desserts » Easy Turkish Baklava Recipe

Published: May 27, 2019 · Modified: Jan 25, 2020 by Zerrin & Yusuf

Easy Turkish Baklava Recipe

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Layers of super thin and flaky buttered phyllo sheets are filled with nuts and sweetened with baklava syrup to make the best Turkish Baklava. Make it at home with this easy baklava recipe and enjoy a whole pan with your beloved ones.

Syrup desserts have a special place among all Turkish foods. Although baklava is on top of the list, we are not limited to it. Pistachio kadayif, kanafeh and tulumba are just a few examples.

Walnut baklava slices topped with crumbled pistachio in a pan.
Turkish walnut baklava slices topped with crumbled pistachio.

How much do you know about Turkish food? I’m sure you are familiar with our shish kabob. What about desserts? You probably know Turkish delight lokum too but there are a lot more sweets in Turkish cuisine.

Are you one of those big fans of Turkish Baklava? Do you sigh whenever you crave it because you don’t know how to make it at home? Don’t worry! Please read on. As a Turkish couple, we love to share recipes from our cuisine on the blog from time to time. Hope you love it too!

Turkish coffee in a traditional Turkish coffee cup, two slices of turkish baklava on a ceramic plate, a baking sheet full of newly made baklava

Where Is Baklava From

Well, this is a very controversial topic and several nations including Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Armenians and Bulgarians claim that they own the origin of baklava. There is no agreement on where it was first made, but it’s obvious that every nation has made its twist on baklava. Since it is the historians’ job to find the reality, I just want to say a few things about Turkish baklava history.

The world-famous baklava dessert, which we always have room for, had a very important place in the Ottoman Empire, especially in the fifteenth century. It is said that the form of baklava changed a lot in the past and it had its current form in Topkapi Palace kitchen in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire period. Baklava was served at all special occasions like wedding ceremonies, festivals and religious events. It was the dessert of any celebration.

It still keeps its special place in Turkish culture today although sweets like cakes or chocolate is in competition with it.

Woman holding a slice of homemade baklava with walnuts and pistachio

Making Baklava Dessert

Making Turkish baklava at home is a tradition to celebrate religious events like Eid. Other than this, it’s not really common to make it at home. People prefer to buy it from pastry shops or small baklava shops.

By making baklava, I mean making Authentic Baklava Recipe from scratch. Not everyone has that skill to make baklava leaves at home though. As you can imagine, older ladies don’t leave the job to anyone else. There is at least one lady in each neighborhood who is very good at making baklava and they certainly have more visitors during these religious celebrations.

On the other hand, younger people mostly prefer the easy way of making baklava. With packaged baklava phyllo sheets. Believe it or not, these baklavas come out as good as the authentic ones. There is no doubt it depends on the quality of the ingredients you use. So, try to use the best products when you decide to make this recipe.

Turkish baklava ingredients

What Is Baklava Made With

Although it is a very special Turkish pastry that everyone craves for, it doesn’t require anything fancy. Baklava is made with very simple ingredients:

  • Phyllo sheets or filo
  • Melted butter
  • Walnuts
  • Sugar
  • Water
  • Lemon wedge

What Is In Baklava Filling

As for the filling, there is a variety of it depending on the region it is made. Although Turkish baklava is well known with its pistachio filling, it’s definitely not limited to it. Maybe because pistachio is not a very cheap product around the country, homemade baklava is mostly made with walnuts. Plus, every region has its own filling.

For example, because pistachio nuts are grown in the south east of Turkey, pistachio baklava is famous there whereas in central Anatolia, the filling is crumbled walnuts. In the west region of the country, it is possible to see baklava with almond filling and in the north, the filling is hazelnuts.

Here in this recipe, I use walnuts in the filling and ground pistachio as garnish on the top because I love them both. What to use for baklava filling is completely up to your taste. You can even use a mixture of all nuts together.

Turkish Baklava Recipe Easy

If you are not making phyllo sheets from scratch, it is really so easy to make baklava using packaged phyllo. What makes it a challenge for most people is the duration of preparing the layers of baklava in baking pan.

This easy baklava recipe has 6 easy parts:

First, make the syrup with water, sugar and a slice of lemon. Let it cool until you prepare and bake your baklava.

  • Trimming Baklava leaves
  • Making baklava with phyllo sheets

Second, trim the phyllo sheets to fit your baking pan.

Third, place the phyllo sheets in the pan, brushing each with melted butter. Sprinkle walnuts after every 5 phyllo sheets. You don’t need to butter the phyllo on which you spread walnuts.

  • Easy Turkish baklava recipe

The order is as follows:

  • 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layer walnuts)
  • 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layer walnuts)
  • 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layer walnuts)
  • 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layer walnuts)
  • 5 buttered phyllo sheets. Butter the top.

In total, we have 25 phyllo sheets with 4 layers of walnuts.

Fourth, brush the top with melted butter, cut it and bake until golden.

Finally, pour cooled syrup over hot baklava and let it sit until it absorbs the syrup, at least 4-5 hours.

  • Spreading butter on phyllo sheets for a classic baklava recipe
  • Pouring baklava syrup with a ladle over newly baked baklava

How To Cut Baklava

Traditionally baklava is cut in diamond shapes. It might be a big deal if you have never tried it before, but it is not as hard as you think.

First, cut the raw baklava into vertical strips. Use a sharp knife for this and cut it all the way to the bottom of the pan so that the syrup spreads evenly. Then cut it diagonally to make that diamond shape.

Alternatively, you can just cut it into squares or rectangles. Shape doesn’t matter at all. It is still your super tasty baklava. Right?

Turkish Baklava Syrup

The ingredients for syrup are water, sugar and a slice of lemon. Combine these in a pot. The ratio here is 2 and ½ cups sugar to 2 cups water. You can just put the lemon slice into the sugar and water combination and heat until it boils. Let it simmer over medium low heat for 15 minutes and cool completely. Lemon gives the consistency needed for the syrup. The best syrup is neither too thick nor too thin.

There is no additional flavorings in Turkish baklava syrup, but there are recipes with rosewater or orange blossom water. So if you want to enrich the syrup, go ahead and use them.

Sprinkling Turkish pistachios over Turkish baklava

FAQs About Turkish Baklava Dessert

How Long Does Baklava Last?

Keep it covered in a container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. Don’t store it in the refrigerator, its texture might change as sugar crystalizes and the dessert will lose its moistness.

Can I Freeze It?

Yes, you can freeze it. Bake it, pour the syrup over it and let it cool completely before placing it in the freezer. Keep it in small batches in freezer bags so that you don’t have to thaw all of them at once. Bring it out of the freezer in the refrigerator one day before you serve.

What To Serve With It

We either serve it with Turkish Tea or Turkish coffee, preferably with no sugar added as the dessert itself is already sweet enough.

Besides tea or coffee, some people love to pair their baklava with Turkish Ice Cream.

Turkish pastry baklava on a ceramic plate and in a traditional pan accompanied by Turkish coffee

Best Baklava In Turkey

The best Turkish pistachios are produced in Gaziantep, which is a city in the south east of the country. So it’s not surprising that the best baklava is found in this city. It is also famous for its baklava masters. The phyllo leaves made by these masters are so thin that you can clearly see the object or person behind it.

If you ever happen to visit Gaziantep, you have to see the Baklava Museum there. You will enjoy watching how the masters make baklava. It is like a live show of making baklava.

Newly baked Turkish baklava dessert filled with walnuts and topped with pistachio in a baking sheet

Other Turkish Desserts

  • Pistachio Kadaif (Kadayif)
  • Turkish Semolina Cake Revani
  • Turkish Kunefe Sweet Cheese Pastry
  • Turkish Rice Pudding Sutlac

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Easy Turkish Baklava Recipe

Newly baked Turkish baklava dessert filled with walnuts and topped with pistachio in a baking sheet
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 8 reviews

Super thin baklava leaves filled with walnuts and sweetened with baklava syrup to make the best Turkish baklava recipe.

  • Author: Zerrin & Yusuf
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 40 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Turkish

Ingredients

Scale

Baklava:

  • 1 package phyllo dough (mine has 25 sheets), thawed
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted (at room temperature not hot)
  • 2 cups walnuts, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons ground pistachio, for garnish

Syrup:

  • 2 and ½ cup sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 slice of lemon

Instructions

  1. Thaw the phyllo dough overnight in the fridge and then let it sit on the counter for about half an hour. Put it aside.
  2. Prepare the syrup. Put the syrup ingredients in a pot. Heat until it boils. Let it simmer over medium low heat for 15 minutes and cool completely.
  3. Trim the phyllo sheets to fit your baking pan. I used 25 sheets in this recipe and trim them all together. Cover them with a damp cloth so that the sheets won’t dry out when you are working. Each time you place a phyllo sheet into the pan, make sure you cover the rest. They can easily dry out otherwise.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  5. Butter the bottom and the sides of a 9x13 baking pan.
  6. Place one phyllo sheet in the pan and brush it with melted butter. Place the second phyllo over it and butter it too. Repeat this until you have 5 sheets in total.
  7. Spread ½ cup walnuts over the 5th sheet evenly.
  8. Place 5 phyllo sheets on the walnuts, brushing each with melted butter. Sprinkle walnuts on the 5th.
  9. Repeat with another 5 phyllo sheets and walnuts on the 5th.
  10. Repeat with another 5 phyllo sheets and walnuts on the 5th.
  11. In total, you will have 25 phyllo sheets and 4 layers of walnuts (between each 5 phyllo sheets).
  12. Make sure you butter the top as well.
  13. Using a sharp knife, cut the raw baklava into vertical strips and then cut diagonally. Make sure you cut it all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake it at 350F for 30 minutes or until tops are golden.
  14. Remove it from oven and using a ladle, pour cooled syrup over hot baklava. Let it sit uncovered for 4-5 hours so that the syrup spreads well into the layers.
  15. Garnish with ground pistachio and serve.

Notes

  1. The butter should be melted and at room temperature, not hot. And don’t try to cover the surface of each phyllo sheet with butter. Just gently brushing it with butter will be enough.
  2. You can adjust the amount of the syrup you pour over baklava. You don’t have to use all the syrup for a less sweet baklava.
  3. Don’t forget to cover the phyllo sheets with damp cloth when buttering one phyllo sheet in the pan. Otherwise, they dry out and tear.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 188
  • Sugar: 5 g
  • Sodium: 82.1 mg
  • Fat: 15.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 11 g
  • Protein: 1.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 10.9 mg

Keywords: baklava with walnuts, easy baklava, turkish baklava, baklava recipe

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  1. Martha says

    May 10, 2022 at 5:46 am

    Hello, I’d love to try this recipe, but the only phyllo dough I could find has 15 sheets in a 16 oz package. Will this work? Also, what size pan do you use? Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Zerrin & Yusuf says

      May 11, 2022 at 1:54 am

      Hi Martha,
      You can still make baklava with 15 sheets. Then you need to follow this order: 5 phyllo sheets - walnuts - 5 phyllo sheets - walnuts - 5 phyllo sheets. Of course you will spread melted butter on each pyhllo sheet. We use 25X35cm pan (about 10X14 inches). If the phyllo sheets fit in your pan, that's fine. If they are too big, you can cut them to fit in it as shown in the one of the step pictures in the post above. Hope these help.

      Reply
  2. cy says

    November 25, 2021 at 5:05 am

    Are the walnuts toasted or untoasted? Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Zerrin & Yusuf says

      November 25, 2021 at 6:32 pm

      We use them untoasted.

      Reply
      • cy says

        January 21, 2022 at 9:28 pm

        It was delicious! I used clarified butter (ghee) so that the surface of the baklava didn't have brown/burnt spots. Love Turkish cuisine, probably my favorite in the Near East/Middle Eastern region!

        ★★★★★

      • Zerrin & Yusuf says

        January 22, 2022 at 12:30 am

        So happy to hear that you liked the recipe. Using clarified butter is brilliant! Thanks for your feedback. Cheers!

  3. Melody Thompson says

    January 28, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    I just love baklava. I learned the recipe from a Turkish friend. I also make the dough from scratch. I also liked your recipe.

    Reply
  4. Homemade Turkish Baklava Recipe says

    October 04, 2020 at 6:26 am

    Baklava is a wonderful dessert. Pistachio, Walnut, Plain One is Delicious.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Simge says

    September 12, 2020 at 11:29 am

    Thanks for this extensive sharing! You have mentioned not only the recipe of baklava, but also its history and storage conditions. I hope one day I dare to try it at home. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Senem says

    July 29, 2020 at 4:06 pm

    Hi Yusuf, my mum makes her Baclava from scratch. This yr due to covid-19. My mum Nilgun won’t be making it this year as we can not see our family. So this year as as a suprise I made your recipe, I am truly grateful, my mum will be very impressed when I gift her this at her door step this Friday xxx happy bayram for this week 29/07/2020. Senem

    Reply
    • Yusuf says

      August 02, 2020 at 5:42 am

      Baklava from scratch is definitely admirable! And bet your mom's baklava is amazing! Glad you made our easy recipe and hope your mom loved this version too. Such a nice surprise you made to her. Please give her our best wishes! Happy bayram to you too!

      Reply
  7. William Jobson says

    July 03, 2020 at 1:22 pm

    This looks great. I was in Turkey during Desert Storm. I was wondering if you have the recipe for the flat bread that they had at food places around the base? It was so good and would love to make it for my family.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Yusuf says

      July 04, 2020 at 2:30 am

      Hi William! What kind of a flat bread was it? Would love to help you if you give more details.

      Reply
  8. Reham says

    May 17, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    Thanks a lot for the detailed recipe
    I used ghee instead of butter , so yummy and smells wonderful, I used walnuts and raisins for the filling, it was the second best baklava after the pistachio filled one i had in Istanbul.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  9. Radka says

    May 08, 2020 at 4:21 am

    Hands down for this recipe! I have already made it twice this week and my fiancee with his cousin just love it so much (both from Turkey). It's easy yet so tasty and authentic, so thanks again. Living in a small Canadian mountain town, it's tricky to find a good baklava. I'll be making this again very soon.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Yusuf says

      May 08, 2020 at 4:51 am

      Hi Radka! I'm so glad to hear that you all loved this baklava recipe! It is easier this way, isn't it? And I know how it feels when you finally find an authentic taste of a food or even make it at home at a place away from the homecountry of it. Thanks for the feedback!

      Reply
  10. angiesrecipes says

    May 29, 2019 at 8:18 am

    wow This looks 10 times better than those I saw in the Turkish bakeries! Wish I could taste one!

    Reply
    • Zerrin says

      May 29, 2019 at 10:17 pm

      Awwww thank you so much! Wish I could send you some!

      Reply
  11. Natalie says

    May 29, 2019 at 7:45 am

    I love baklava! Looks so delicious and perfect for parties!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Zerrin says

      May 29, 2019 at 10:17 pm

      Hi Natalie! It is always a hit at any occasion. Right?

      Reply
  12. Aysegul says

    May 29, 2019 at 3:43 am

    My favorite dessert in the world. Seriously, this looks amazing. I have never even attempted to make baklava, but reading through your post I think I can do it.
    Thanks for sharing.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Zerrin says

      May 29, 2019 at 10:19 pm

      Thank you my lovely friend! I'm sure you can make it in the best way!

      Reply
  13. matt says

    May 27, 2019 at 5:11 pm

    I'm craving for baklava so badly now! Your pictures make it look really easy to make. Thanks for the recipe and the step by step pictures!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Aysegul Celeb says

      April 23, 2021 at 10:08 pm

      Well, you may take a look at this website. They are sending Turkish baklava in 2 days to USA & Worldwide:

      grandturkishbazaar.com

      Reply

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Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

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